Resilient wheel.



F. H. BAUER.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. I3. 1911.

1 287, 1 84 Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

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UNrrnn sfiiifinst FREDERICK H. BAUER, 0F FORT WORTH, TEXAS.-

Y RESILIENT WHEEL.

Specification of l y Applicationv filed November 1 T0 all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK H. BAUER, i a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Fort Worth, in the county of Tarrant and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements -in Resilient Wheels, of which thefollowing is a specification.V`

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in resilient wheels for vehicles and has for its primary object the provision of a wheel particularly adapted for use over soft or uneven roads to insure proper-Atractioii between the road surface andthe wheel.

In this connection one of the primary objects of my invention resides in constructing a wheel having a resilient rim or felly portion capable of attening somewhat at the point of engagement with the road bed due to the pressureA exerted upon it by 'the load imposed upon the hub vand transmitted to the` felly by the spokes sofas to give an enlarged bearing surface between the rim Vor felly and the road bed.

A still further ob]ect fof lmy invention consists iii constructing a wheelf'of this character infwhich the spokesy arealso resilient in order to permit this yielding ofthe rim.

Anotherobject which I have in view isthe provision of adjustable means for limiting the amount lof distortion of the spokes and consequently the amount of flattening ofthe wheel.

With these and other objects in view, my invention will be more fully described, illustrated in the'accompanying drawings and then specifically p'ointedpout in the kclaims which form apart of this application.`

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a wheelA constructed in accordance with my invention as` it appears when no load is imposed upon it; n

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2%-2 of Fig. V1,'1ooking in -the direction ofthe larrows and illustrating the means employed for checking distortion ofthe spokes;

Fig. 3 isa taken on 'the line fragmentary` sectional view 3-3 of Figl 1 illustratingV v the manner of connecting the resilient spokes to the hub'disk of the wheel ;y i

Fig. i is a fragmentary perspective view showing a method of attaching atire tothe rim;

Fig. yris a` fragmentary fsection'al Yview Letters Patent.

s, 1917.k serial No. 201,837.,`

showing another method of attaching a tire to the rim. Y

Patented Dec. V1o, 191s.

Corresponding andlike parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views 'of the drawings by thej same reference characters.

B roadly speaking my improved wheel includes a hub disk 1Q, rim or felly 1l and a plurality of resilient spoke elements 12. The hub disk is preferably circular in form and is providedcentrally withan 'aXle receiving sleeve 13. The resilient yieldable rim or felly 11 is built up of a plurality of superimposed layers 14 of steelor other suitable resilient materialy fastened together in any suitable manner. VThese layers should eov be of such thickness and number as to afford the desired yielding qualities and still possess thek necessary strength.' Obviously, each layer may be in the formi oan-endless ring or band of resilient-metal, or a continuous f band of suchmetal'may be wound uponit self'spirallyto vproduce ajrim ofthe requisite number'of layers. f' i Each spoke element 12"'constitutesJ in effect a pair of spokes,eachspoke elementr bei ing formed froma single length of resilient wire or from a singleresilient. rod of suitable diameter.y The wire or rod, as the case may be, Vis bent upon itself intermediate-its length to provide an eye 16' proportioned'to surround a cylindrical boss 17 either secured to or formed integrally with the hub disk 10. Cap plates 18 are secured against ltherends of the various bosses by cap screws 19 or equivalent fastening means andl projecty at their peripheries beyond the bosses to overi lie the eyes 16 and preventtheir lateral displacement. 'lhe wire orrods forming; the spring elements are extended toward the rim with their side portions diverging from each other, as clearly shown in Fig. v1, and their ends are passed through suitable'openings formed in the rim or felly andup set, 'as indicated atk 2O in Fig. 1, to secure them against inward movement through thefelly. l lEach spoke end immediately ywithin the rim'v or felly is off-set, as indicated'at 21,'to provide in effect a stop shoulder'zen'gaging against the inner faceof the yrim or ,ifelly to prevent outward movement of-the spoke en therethrough; f1'

Preferably, as indicated :inthe-drawings, a series of spoke elei'nentsis secured. to each side of the .hub disk and thezbosses supportthe outer ends of the spoke elements of one The resilienc or yieldability of the rim or felly and of the spokes should/be such as to permit'any desired amount of flattening `of that portion of the rim or felly engaging the ground under no-rmal load conditions imposed upon the wheel so as to insure not only the desired resiliency of the 'wheel but also an enlarged tractive or bear ing surface between thewheel and road bed. However, in order to avoid undue distortion or flattening of the wheel under exceptional loads, or due to sudden strains exi erted upon it when vtraveling 'over' rough ground, I provide means yfor checking or i limiting the yielding of the resilient spokes as it is obvious that the rim or felly can permit due to their yielding. Preferably this checking means is adjustable and' a Vsimpleform of check is clearly illustrated ing vprovided -f'orfeach slot and the threaded 'rods 124 of a turnbuckle mechanism, indicated 'as a whole by the numeral 25, are journaledl in these eyes and at their adjacent ends 'engage in the internally threaded nu't 2-6 of the'turnbuckle which at its ends engages against the opposed vfaces of the eral projections 29 kand y30 terminating in outwardly directed lips 31 each having one side provided with a seat 32 to be engaged n by an adjacent spoke element.

yAs will be apparent by reference to Figs.

j 1 'and 2 'the yextendingolf rthese arms 29 and 30 in opposite directionsso vdisposes the lips 3l that one lip kof vieach slide will engage a spoke element at oner side of 'the hub disk while the otherlip of the same slide will engage a spoke element-at the opposite side of the-hub disk. -By this arrangement only half as many turnbucklemechanisms as @there are spoke elements are required.

Normallyk when the wheel -is under no `strain the spoke elements will not engage in the seats but when the wheel `has been distorted to the maximum extent intended the many spoke elements will engage the seats of the slides and will be held against any further material distortion and will, consequently, hold the wheel rim or felly against further distortion. By embodying turnbuckles in the stops as a means for holding the slides I provide a simple and eflicient form of adjustment by which I may readily vary the point at which distortion of the wheel will be checked. i

If desired, a solid tread or tire of rubber or equivalent material may be secured 4about the rim, two methods of securing such a Y tread being shown in Figs. t and 5. In Fig. d I show the outer layer of the rimas formed with spaced outwardly extendimg` inwardly directed hooks 33 adapted to engage in suit-able seats 34 in a reinforced ruby ber tire `85, it being understood that these" hooks will be suiiiciently resilient to permit their being bent into and out of engagement with thetire to permitapplication of thc tire or removal of a worntire and replacey Y ment by a new tire. flatten only to such extent as the spokes In Fig. 5 I have illustrated another method in which U-shaped clamping memlbers 36 and 37 have their intermediate portions engaging the sides of the rim with their --shorter arms 38 engaging in seats formed at suitably spaced intervals in the sides ofthe tire andhaving' their inner arms overlapped against the inner face of the rim and secured by a bolt 39 or other fasteningdevice. Y AlthougliI have chiefly suggested the vuse of thin rings or bands of steel for the rim construction the riminay be constructed in different ways according Y to the strengthV required, wood, fiber, steel wire, leather and the like or various combinations of such materials being suitable vunder different circumstances. y

Gbviously, my improved wheel construe tion is of such a character as to ad'init of- :various minor changes in construction fand disposal of parts and I, therefore, reserve the right to make any/changes which may fall within the scope of the claims.

Having thus described the invention,4

what is claimed as newA is: n

l. A resilient wheel including a rim capable of yielding or flattening under -a load, a hub provided on its opposite faces with a plurality of *circumferentiallyr spaced bosses, and a plurality of spring Aelements bent upon themselves intermediate their lengths to forni. eyes engagingvabout the bossesy and having their ends secured to the rim.

2. A resilient wheelin'cluding va rim capable of yielding or flattening under a load, a hub Aprovided on its oppositey faces with a plurality of eircumferentiallyy spaced bosses, a plurality of spring elements bent upon themselves intermediate their'lengths to form eyes engaging about the bosses and having their ends secured to the' rim, and means for preventing displacement of the eyes from the bosses.

3. A resilient wheel including a rim capable of yielding or flattening under a load, a hub provided on its opposite faces with a plurality of circumferentially spaced bosses, a plurality of spring elements bent upon themselves intermediate their lengths to form eyes engaging about the bosses and having their ends secured to the rim, means for preventing displacement of the eyes from the bosses, the free ends of the spoke elements being passed through the rim and upset, and the spoke elements being bent adjacent the inner face of the rim to provide abutting portions engaging the rim.

4. A resilient wheel including a rim capable of yielding or flattening under a load, a hub provided on its opposite faces with a plurality of circumferentially spaced bosses, a plurality of spring elements bent upon themselves intermediate their lengths to form eyes engaging about the bosses and having` their ends secured to the rim, means for preventing` displacement of the eyes from the bosses, the free ends of the spoke elements being passed through the rim and upset and the spoke elements being bent adjacent the inner face of the rim to provide abutting portions engaging the rim, the rim being formed of a plurality of superimposed layers of suitable material whereby the layers are secured together by the spokes.

5.`A resilient whel including a hub, a rim, yieldable spoke elements connecting the hub and the rim, and lips projecting from the sides of the hub to be engaged by the spoke elements whereby distortion of said elements will be limited.

6. A resilient wheel including a hub, a rim, yieldable spokes connecting the hub and the rim, and slides mounted in the hub and provided at their ends with seats to be engaged by the spokes.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FREDERICK H. BAUER. [n s] Copies of this patent may be obtained for veeents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patenti, Washington, D. C.

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